Centrifugal pumping system



Nov. 3, 1931. 1: MOORE 1,830,286

CENTRIFUGAL PUMPING SYSTEM Filed D60. 21, 1928 hwznran requires almostconstant Patented Nov. 3, 1 931 THOMAS E. MOORE, OI MORRIS PLAINS, NEW

O'ENTRIFUGAL rumrm'e svs'rmr Application filed December 21, 1928. Serialno. $21,575.

This invention relates to hydraulic pumpmg apparatus involving the useof a centrifugal pump for removing water from marshes, sink-holes and.other repositories in 5 the soil as may be required in preparing thesoil for the reception of sewers, water mains and other conduits or inthe construction of the foundations of buildings and othersuperstructures.

This pump may be located in any operative position most suitable orconvenient for the work to be performed and its intake and deliverysides connected to suitable conduits leading respectively to the sourceof supply and to the place of discharge either of which ma be above orbelow the level of the pump an at widely varying distances therefrom.

It frequently happens that the water passing through the pump is ladenwith more or less sand, silt and other foreign matter, portions of whichare sometimes drawn or force into the glands for the impeller shaft ofthe pump thereby cutting, scoring or otherwise impairing both the shaftand glands to such an extent as to allow air to enter the pump throughthe impaired glands and thus reduce the working efliciency of the pump.I

\ Various methods have heretofore been proposed for preventing theentrance of air to the interior of the pump through the glands orstuffing boxes for the shaft bearings such, for example, as connectingthe interior of the outer part of the pump case to both of v the glandsto conduct a part of the water to the glands for sealing the sameagainst the entrance of air.

This method has a certain degree of efliciency when the pump is workingunder a large supply or full head of clean water but has proven to beinefficient for sealing the bearing glands against the entrance of airwhen the water supply is relatively smal'l' and laden with more or lesssand and other foreign matter for the reason that the grit 'soondestroys the glands and permits the leakage of air therethrough.

Another method is the use of grease cups for forcing grease into theglands for lubrieating and sealing purposes, but this method attentionand is,

therefore, impracticable in apparatus of this character. J

A further method heretofore proposed for use on large dredgin pumps isto provide an extra force pump or forcing clean water into the bearingglands which, "of course,

would be prohibitive in connection with the present apparatus by reasonof the added costs and necessity for a separate source of supply ofclean water.

The main object of this invention is to provide means whereby a portionof the water passing'through the pump is automatically clarified, so faras any injurious grit content is concerned, and the clear water divertedto 5 the stuflin boxes or hearing glands of the impeller 's aft underpressure to seal said glands against the entrance of air therethroughinto the pump. I

In other words, I have sought to divert 7o clarified portions of thepumped water to the stufling boxes under pressure suflicient to expelthe air therefrom and to "prevent the filtering of air .therethroughinto the pump irrespective of the amount of water passing 75. 1 throughthe pump. 1 V

v Other objects and uses relatin to specific parts of the apparatus willbe rought out in the following description.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is'a side elevation of a portion of a centrifugal pumpingapparatus embodying the various features of my invention.

Figure 2 is an end elevation, partly broken away, of the same apparatus,viewed from the intake side of the pump.

Figur e 3 is a horizontal detail sectional view through the upperportion of the stand pipe, taken in the plane of line 3-3, Figure 1.

Figure 4 is an enlarged sectional view of one of the bearings for theimpeller shaft of the pump and adjacent end of one of the water supplypipes for maintaining a water seal in the stufling box of the bearing.

The invention is adapted to be used in con- ,nection with a centrifugalpump 1- hav ing suitable intake and outlet conduits 2. and --3, saidpump being provided with the usual impeller shaft 4; and bearing "7glands or stufiing boxes -5- therefor in opposite ends of the pump case.

The outlet conduit preferably includes a pipe T-section -'6, a checkvalve 7-.- and The extreme upper end of the pipe 9 is provided with anair vent 10- to allow free rise and fall of the liquid in the standpipe, said vent pipe being provided with a try-cock l0' to enable theoperator to determine the presence or absence of air in the stand pipeand also whether or not the valve -8' is closed sufiiciently to causethe water to rise in the stand pressure to be delivered to the stuffingboxes. A pair of relatively small branch pipes --11 lead from the upperend of the stand pipe 9 to the glands or stufiing boxes 5 for supplyinga part of the pumped water to-the glands for sealing the same againstthe entrance of air therethrough to the interior of the terially reducethe efliciency of the pump.

The object of the stand pipe --9 of relatively large capacity ascompared with the size of the pipes -11 the pumped water deliveredthrough the outlet conduit to rise more or less slowlytherein so as toallow any matter whic may be carried. into the standpipe to settl intothe main outlet conduit and to be carried therethrough by the force ofthe pump thereby maintaining a greater or less quantity of substantiallyclear water in the upper portion of the stand pipe to be conductedtherefrom to the gland bearings through the conduits 11.

The rise of the pumped water in the stand p1pe-49 may be facilitated andclosely regulated by proper adjustment of the throttle valve 8- which,when adjusted, more or less toward its closed position, serves to'chokevthe outflow of water through the condult +-?r suflicient to causea part of the water to slowly back u into the stand pi '9 until itreaches t e level of the ad acent ends of-the branch pipes-11.

- That is, the throttlevalve 8 serves as .a means v for causing a partof the pumped water to rise in the stand pipe .9 to or slightly abovethe level of the adj aoent ends of the branch pipes 11- at a rate ofspeed sufiiciently slow toallow sand, silt and other solid matter whichmaybe carried into the stand pipe to gradually precipitate into the pipewith enough P p Which would mais to permit part of,

sand, silt or other foreign discharge conduit 3 where it is carried edwith the water discharged through said conduit to the place of delivery'Under these conditions the water in the upper portion of the stand pipewill be practically clear or free from sand and other sediment whichmight be injurious to the bearings of the impeller shaft of the pump.

i-his clear liquid is automatically delivered through the pipes 11- tothe pump bearings -5- under suficient pressure to force the air from theinterior thereof outwardly through all portions .thereof and thereby toeiiectively seal said bearings against the entrance of air, while at thesame time flowing in part through any clearances that may be presentbetween the shaft and gland.

' The standpipe '9 may be of any desired height sufficient tocarry thewater level therein some distance above the level of the glands 5 togive the necessary pressufe of the clear water passing through. thepipes '11- to said glands for expelling the air from said I glands andsealing the same against the entrance of air in addition to the otherfunction of the stand pipe 1n allowing the sediment therein toautomatically precipitate to the bottom thereof and thereby assuring thedeliveryof substantially clear water to the glands 5 through the pipes-'11.

Suitable means is also provided for supplying clear water from aseparate source when desired and for this purpose a supply pipe12leading from any source of clear water supplyis connected to the upperend of the stand pipe at about thelevel of the upper ends of thedelivery pipes 11 in which case the portion of the stand pipeimmediately below the supply pipe -12- and upper; ends of the deliverypipes --11- will too be provided with a valve 13-'- capable of beingclosed at will when the clear sealing water or other liquid isintroduced into the glands -5- through the pipes 11 under suflicientpressure to expel air from said glands and sealthe same against thepassage of air therethrough, it being understood that the extra supplypipe'-12 may be provided with a valve, not shown, for'controlling thepassage of water therethrough.

-That is, when water is supplied to the glands through the extra pipe-12 the valve -13 will be closed to prevent the passage of such waterinto the discharge conduit 3. t

On the other hand, under the normal operation of the pump the watersupply through the pipe -12- will be cut off and thevalve 1 3 will beopened and by properly adjusting the valve -8 in the outlet pipe 3- thewater discharged from the.

pump through said conduit will be caused to rise slowly in the standpipe 9. thereby allowing any sand, silt or other foreign mate ter toprecipitate in the conduit 3- to be v carried off with the main outflowof the also effectively seal the same against the entrance of airtherethrough.

It is now evident that the stand pipe -9 serves as a settling basin forthe water therein in which the solid matter is precipitated to thebottomthereby leaving the clear water at the top for supplying the necessarywater seal to the glands of the impeller shaft.

The check valve 7 is merely to prevent the backflow of water and airthroughthe conduit 3 into the pump while permitting the free outflow ofwater and air from the pump. v

The operation will now be readily understood from the foregoingdescription and the accompanying drawings and while I have shown aspecific means for carrying out the various objects of the invention itis evident that certain changes may be made in the detail constructionwithout departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. The combination with a centrifugal pump having an inlet conduit andan outlet conduit and glands for the impeller shaft of the pump, a'standpipe connected to the outlet conduit for receiving pumped water from theoutlet conduit, means for causing a portion of the pumped water to risein the stand pipe, and means for conducting the water.

from said stand pipe to the glands for sealing said glands against thepassage of air therethrough.

2. The combination with a centrifugal pump having an inlet conduit andan outlet conduit and glands for the impeller shaft of the pump, athrottle valve in the outlet conduit, a stand pipe connected to. theoutlet conduit between the valve and pump and extending some distanceabove the level of said glands, said valve being-adjustable at willpumped liquid passing into said conduit, i

means for restricting the outflow of water through the outlet-conduitfor causing portions of said water to rise in the stand pipe to apredetermined level above said gland, and means for conducting the waterfrom said predetermined level in the stand pipe to said gland.

4:. The combination with a centrifugal pump having an inlet conduit andan outlet conduit and a gland for the impeller. shaft of the pump, astand pipe connected to the outlet conduit for receiving a part of theliquid passing through the outlet conduit, a valve in said pipe adaptedto be opened and closed at will, means operable at will for restrictingthe outflow of the water through the outlet conduit beyond the standpipe and causing a portion of the water to rise to a predetermined levelin the stand pipe and a branch pipe leading from the stand pipe to saidgland for supplying water thereto and sealing the same against thepassage of air through the gland.

5. The combination with a centrifugal pump having an inlet conduit andan outlet conduit and glands for the impeller shaft of the pump, a standpipe connected to the.

outlet conduit and extending upwardly some distance above the top of thepump, branch pipes leading from the upper end of the stand pipe to saidglands, means operable at will for restricting the flow of the pumpedwater through the outlet conduit beyond the stand pipe sufiiciently tocause a portion of said water to rise in the stand pipe to the level ofthe connections of the branch pipes therewith. In witness whereof I havehereunto set my hand this 14th day of December, 1928.

-THOMAS F. MOORE.

to vary the volume of water passing therethrough and thereby to causethe waterto.

rise to a predetermined level in the stand pipe, and branch pipesleading from the water level in the stand pipe to said glands forsealing the same against the passage of air therethrough.

3. The combination with a centrifugal pump having an inlet conduit andan outlet conduit and a gland for the impeller shaft of the; pump, astand pipe connected to the upper side of the outlet conduit andextending upwardly some distance above the level of the pump forreceiving portions of the

